US EditionUS strips citizenship from couple in trade theft case, part of Trump immigration push
The couple used stolen exosome technology for profit and received nearly $1.5 million in transactions, the Justice Department said.
- On March 30, federal Judge James E. Simmons Jr. of the Southern District of California revoked the U.S. citizenship of Li Chen and Yu Zhou, ruling their trade secret theft convictions demonstrated a lack of the "good moral character" required for American citizenship.
- The couple, arriving on H-1B visas in 2007 and 2008, leveraged their roles as researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, to steal sensitive medical trade secrets related to exosome isolation for personal profit and benefit of the Chinese government.
- Judge Simmons determined the pair's crimes involved "moral turpitude," rendering them ineligible for naturalization. Following guilty pleas for conspiracy to commit trade secret theft and wire fraud, the court ordered the duo to pay $2.6 million in restitution.
- Attorney General Pam Bondi stated on Tuesday that these denaturalizations illustrate the Justice Department's focus on ensuring "citizenship remains a privilege to obtain, not a right to abuse," stripping the former researchers of legal protections afforded to U.S. citizens.
- The Justice Department has identified denaturalization as a priority, securing 13 such revocations during President Donald Trump's second term with 16 cases pending. This enforcement aligns with the administration's broader policy to strictly define citizenship requirements.
21 Articles
21 Articles
Chinese scientists lose U.S. citizenship after hospital trade secret theft convictions
A federal judge has revoked the U.S. citizenship of a Chinese husband-and-wife research scientist duo who stole medical trade secrets from a children's hospital and sold them to benefit a company they secretly established, the Justice Department announced.
A federal judge revoked U.S. citizenship of a Chinese couple after determining that they obtained it illegally, after having been convicted of plotting to steal medical business secrets and share them with entities linked to China, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).Read more
San Diego judge revokes U.S. citizenship of couple who sold trade secrets to China
A San Diego judge revoked the U.S. citizenship of a naturalized couple who stole medical trade secrets to sell to China, after they pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit theft of trade secrets and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
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